Spotify’s free and Premium service are the same in the sense that all users, regardless of subscription status, will be able to access the same content. However last month it was rumored that Adele’s representatives had attempted to get Spotify to limit the stream of the singer’s album to those who were Premium subscribers, rumors which Spotify had rubbished.
However it seems that maybe the rumors weren’t so far-fetched because according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, it has been suggested that this is something that the company has been recently considering. Apparently Spotify is currently in talks with music executives about their plan and how artists in the future could choose to release albums that are only available to those who subscribe to the music streaming service.
The report goes on to state that Spotify will begin this by testing out the waters just to see how such an approach will impact usage and subscription signups. Presumably if all goes to plan, this is something that Spotify could consider implementing permanently in the future. As it stands Spotify’s free music tier is one of its advantages compared to other platforms like Apple Music.
In fact last year Spotify’s CEO Daniel Ek proclaimed that the platform’s free tier actually helps drive their paid service. In any case take it with a grain of salt for now, but what do you guys think of this potential change?